PLEASE MAKE POWERPLAY IN "OPEN ONLY"

[CMDR KOBAL]

Power play needs a major overhaul open only won't fix anything and may introduce more problems.

Agreed that PP needs a major overhaul.

If the only change was it being made to OO than at least the "core game play" of PP (hauling merits) would be done in a fashion that has some logical bearing on reality... ie the ships hauling merits have at least a chance of being instanced with the ships which would oppose such activity.
It's just so unrealistic the way people can haul merits and never encounter opposition. This does point to the generally broken design of PP as a whole but at least OOPP would address this one issue.

Of course, the people who enjoy doing the current PP grind safely in solo will be opposed to being in more danger. But I don't see why this couldn't inspire more immergent gameplay as haulers need to convoy up to ensure their successful delivery mission.

I personally don't push for OOPP because I get enjoyment out of blowing up non-combat ships and ruining people's day. I would be happy to be part of the support convoy that takes the heat off any potential opposition the haulers would encounter. It could potentially inspire pvpers and the solo crowd to work together as they experience the same gameplay.

 

[Arry]

How is Powerplay not about gaming and territorial conquest? When it was introduced, the rule was you expand every week, and if you can't (and are in the bottom 3 in last place) for 3 turns you were in danger of collapse. That was the central tenet of Powerplay.

But from what I remember at the beginning, a major power was heading for the fall and so F.D. moved the goal posts, to avoid it happening.

 

[Rubbernuke]

That it does, and less than 50% of base game sales made a corresponding purchase of Horizons.

So you'll break the legs of the rest of the game to keep everything 'fair?'. Next you'll be saying you can't have surface bases counting for the BGS because non-Horizons people can't land at them and fight fairly.

 

[Rubbernuke]

Its perceived as broken by many, but not all of us who think its broken see modes as the issue with it. I see the core mechanics as the borken part, and open only won't change that at all.

If (IF) open only gets more people playing, it will still be an utterly mindnumbing and boring grindfest to me and won't get me playing. If people like that sort of play, specifically because it is in open, then i would presume they are already doing it, in open.

Agreed.
If Open Only got more people playing, I’d feel compelled to build a bunker in the mountains, for that kind of mass madness can only be a sign that the Great Old Ones are returning.

And for us who actually do play the feature and have done so consistently for years disagree.

 

[Rubbernuke]

Not possible. It was one of the core features told during the kickstarter period that everyone can play the game in the mode he likes.

I also remember a Mac version and offline being promised. In reality circumstances change and design should reflect today's needs and not those of five years ago.

 

[Rubbernuke]

But from what I remember at the beginning, a major power was heading for the fall and so F.D. moved the goal posts, to avoid it happening.

You are remembering Aisling who got into a large turmoil- FD then fiddled with the overhead curve. In the beginning we were told (and it was even in the 1.0 PP manual) that collapse was real. When two powers (Torval and Archon) met the criteria, FD came clean but they did nothing. Sandro later talked about adding collapse but thats as far as it went.

So in the end, Powerplay was released 50% complete.

 

[Agony_Aunt]

Hang on, so it doesn't matter to you if it's open only or not. you won't want to play it anyway? Why are you bothered about this then?

Isn't the point, what could be done to make PP more exciting and interesting for people and get more people playing?

So, open only won't get me playing, but some fundamental changes to how PP works might get me playing. I won't reiterate my thoughts on this again, but feel free to trawl through some of my last few posts in this thread to get an idea of what i want from PP to make it more interesting.

 

[Agony_Aunt]

And for us who actually do play the feature and have done so consistently for years disagree.

But you already play it. What is needed to get those who don't play it playing it?

Or it should remain an exclusive club for those who currently play it?

 

[Arry]

You are remembering Aisling who got into a large turmoil- FD then fiddled with the overhead curve. In the beginning we were told (and it was even in the 1.0 PP manual) that collapse was real. When two powers (Torval and Archon) met the criteria, FD came clean but they did nothing. Sandro later talked about adding collapse but thats as far as it went.

So in the end, Powerplay was released 50% complete.

Which in my opinion, seriously needs addressing.

The way I understood the whole concept, of that part of the game; was a power from outside the list, could rise up and takeover from the lowest power in the list, if the criteria had been met. Or to put it another way. A player groups actions, could have real influence over the game. This turned out to be not the case; because a major plot line faction/power, was going to fall and that was not in F.Ds long term plan. So they fixed it.

 

[lenna]

I also remember a Mac version and offline being promised. In reality circumstances change and design should reflect today's needs and not those of five years ago.

The Mac version was for technical reasons and due to OS limitations that the OS developer essentially refused to address. There are still options for Mac users though, boot camp or similar being one of them.

Offline was abandoned because of the move to a single shared universe state in the design phase.

Neither is comparable to what some are asking for regarding PP.

 

[Robert Maynard]

When someone can mine 300,000 merits in a turretboat it then breaks the game a tad, how can you (without using the same exploit or grind yourself to death) compete? A 95% reduction from memory brought them down to about 15K a week.

Then deal with turretboats in the first instance before considering removing content from players.

You simply can't collude with them. The game will know what mode you are in and scale them accordingly.

Any player / player that is meant to be confrontational can suffer from collusion - as Frontier have already discovered.

You mean slippery slopers fearing it will lead to more changes, when its not? The majority of the playerbase don't play Powerplay, ergo they can't be at 'risk' if it changes to it.

Well until then, you can defect with no penalty, which makes leaving (but waiting extra time) pointless, breaking another part of Powerplay.

Indeed.

Well, although its not allowed to be used in debate, the reaction from the majority of people was favourable.

The majority of a minority (of forum users that actively post on the forums) of a minority (of the player-base that have registered on the forums).

It may not be perfect, but its better than what we have. And if FD ever want other multiplayer features to work, any dev time invested helps the rest of the game.

Better for some, not for others.

 

[Rubbernuke]

But you already play it. What is needed to get those who don't play it playing it?

Or it should remain an exclusive club for those who currently play it?

Because Powerplay as it is needs to stand apart from the BGS, which is Powerplay 2.0 in all but name. The grindy mechanics become much more fun when you are evading others. I'm enthusiastic about that based on the brief glimpses of that happening in my time, and having that as normal rather than fleeting is something that would energise the feature.

 

[Lestat]

Can we say Gank Fest if Open only made? One pilot who wants to play solo targeted by a Wing because they are an easy to target. Ya topic lame.

 

[Robert Maynard]

So you'll break the legs of the rest of the game to keep everything 'fair?'. Next you'll be saying you can't have surface bases counting for the BGS because non-Horizons people can't land at them and fight fairly.

It's Frontier's job to offer what they consider to be "fair" to their whole player-base.

No, I wouldn't. What "fighting" is there regarding surface bases?

 

[Lestat]

The Mac version was for technical reasons and due to OS limitations that the OS developer essentially refused to address. There are still options for Mac users though, boot camp or similar being one of them.

Offline was abandoned because of the move to a single shared universe state in the design phase.

Neither is comparable to what some are asking for regarding PP.

Ya RubberNuke seems to Ignore that part.

 

[Robert Maynard]

Offline was abandoned because of the move to a single shared universe state in the design phase.

It wasn't.

The single shared galaxy state and three modes sharing it all formed part of of the initial pitch, at the start of the Kickstarter. Offline mode was added to the scope about a month / six weeks in in addition to the existing three modes and, sadly, subsequently cancelled before launch.

 

[Rubbernuke]

Which in my opinion, seriously needs addressing.

The way I understood the whole concept, of that part of the game; was a power from outside the list, could rise up and takeover from the lowest power in the list, if the criteria had been met. Or to put it another way. A player groups actions, could have real influence over the game. This turned out to be not the case; because a major plot line faction/power, was going to fall and that was not in F.Ds long term plan. So they fixed it.

No, originally it was 10 powers, with 2 partially finished in the gamefiles (presumably to replace the ones lost). You might be thinking of Grom via the Rise to Power. As far as I am aware Powerplay was up to players and was 'unscripted' as such. However it was that friction between 'the plot' and Powerplay that probably made it an issue for FD.

 

[Rubbernuke]

The Mac version was for technical reasons and due to OS limitations that the OS developer essentially refused to address. There are still options for Mac users though, boot camp or similar being one of them.

Neither is comparable to what some are asking for regarding PP.

So it became too expensive with too few players and it was cut, in essence the KS stretch goal promised was altered when it became untennable. Completely unlike a feature that was never mentioned, had failed and now needs a redesign but is being held to ransom from an earlier time.

 

[Lestat]

It wasn't.

The single shared galaxy state and three modes sharing it all formed part of of the initial pitch, at the start of the Kickstarter. Offline mode was added to the scope about a month / six weeks in in addition to the existing three modes and, sadly, subsequently cancelled before launch.

The reason why it was cancelled was what you did online and offline would be different and would affect the galaxy.

 

[Rubbernuke]

]

Then deal with turretboats in the first instance before considering removing content from players.

You can't, not without balancing engineering, heal beams, PG, PP CZs all in one go. Its the combination that is the killer, not the individual parts.

Any player / player that is meant to be confrontational can suffer from collusion - as Frontier have already discovered.

But you can't collude with weighted merits- its simply impossible as you are collecting merits from NPCs and can't trade or steal them. The only thing another player can do in this case is destroy someone hoarding them.

The majority of a minority (of forum users that actively post on the forums) of a minority (of the player-base that have registered on the forums).

But its all we have- and its all FD has regarding quality feedback outside of what numbers FD sit on in some giant spreadsheet.

Better for some, not for others.

Like quite a lot of the game then.